Toy Storage?

stella_blu

DD got a ton of toys for Christmas and now I'm trying to figure out where to put everything. There are quite a few toys that have little parts and pieces that I'd like to keep together. Up until now we've just had a couple of bins and she pulls everything out and we just toss it back in when it's time to clean up. I'm thinking we'll start letting her have one toy or two things out at a time and clean up in between. Any suggestion to keep all of the little bitty things together? Our house is not huge by any means and are basement isn't quite finished so we need to reduce the clutter as much as possible.

blissfullyignorant

What type of things? We have a big Ikea cubbie bookcase in our living room that stores a lot of kid stuff.

We keep games and similar things in their boxes and stack them in the higher cubbies. When the kids want to play with them they point to the box and we help them get it out. It's an easy way to see what games we have and keep them contained. We have some bins on the lower cubbies. We keep some like things in those too. One is full of MegaBlocks. I'm actually just about to take a picture of the blocks and tape it to the front of the bin so they kids know which bin is which.

smilelari

Good question.  We have most of DS's toys on a bookcase and sorted in fabric cubes.  But the shelf was already full and I have no idea where to put the new stuff.

swinsto3

We got these for Christmas, which will contain the bigger stuff:

I think we'll get fabric boxes for the smaller stuff, and we try to keep blocks in their original bags as much as possible. I also really want one of these for all her books:

Our family room is pretty full though, and I don't know how much more will fit. I purged out a bunch of her stuff, so I'm hoping we'll have room for the rest of it!

SkiHorse

swinsto3:

We got these for Christmas, which will contain the bigger stuff:

Where did you get those? I saw something similar at Pottery Barn Kids, but it didn't have dividers.  (I guess a lot Nestie parents have similar storage problems the day after Christmas!)

swinsto3

SkiHorse:

swinsto3:

We got these for Christmas, which will contain the bigger stuff:

Where did you get those? I saw something similar at Pottery Barn Kids, but it didn't have dividers.  (I guess a lot Nestie parents have similar storage problems the day after Christmas!)

Amazon. They are actually two separate pieces:

Three bin: http://tinyurl.com/7tjuey4

Two bin: http://tinyurl.com/74ft7vb

They come in a couple of colors, and are Prime eligible. Random bonus is that they count towards your Amazon Mom membership too, so they would get you a number of free months. Amazon has the bookshelf too, but I've seen it cheaper elsewhere. 

WonderRed

N's room is the most organized room of the house.  I aspire for the rest of my space to be as put together as his room. 

I have six feet of these shelves in his room with colored baskets in the bottom spots.  Each one is designated for  something specific:  action figures, cars, costumes/dress up, toy kitchen food, lincoln logs, and misc stuff cubes.  The upper shelves are for books and larger things that don't fit into the cubes. I have several zippered storage cubes from IKEA for play sets that have lots of small peices:   Tiro blocks, Playmobil zoo/safari stuff, police & fire station stuff, etc.  We also have a "custom" ELFA art table from the container store, similar to this one except ours has a wood grain top, not the white.  The art table is used for Legos, Puzzles, playdough, art supplies, coloring/workbooks, and drawing paper.

Things like games and big puzzles are kept in our living room entertainment center.

stella_blu

Thanks ladies! We got a bunch of stuff for her kitchen that I didn't get made in time for Christmas, partially because it has no where to go until the basement is done. We have a lot of toys with smaller bits and pieces now too. Legos, play food, dishes, Mr. Potato head and some games. I love those IKEA cubes and shelving type units. I was thinking lidded things for sure for the things with all of the tiny parts. When I do actually make her kitchen, a lot of the accessories will fit inside it so that should help too. Glad I'm no the only one overwhelmed by all of this stuff! 

Mrs.Greeko

We have so many storage solutions in the playroom it is ridiculous.  We have one of those 9 square things from target with 4 fabric cubes in there.  One cube has play kitchen stuff, one has make believe stuff, one has little people/Barbie stuff, one has baby tots.  The shelves without bins have dinosaurs, musical instruments, m&d food sets, wooden blocks, and cars (little people and barbie).  On top it will have Rubbermaid containers containing Barbies in one, lacing beads in one, and Legos in one.  Dolls and accessories are in under bed storage boxes that roll under the futon, stuffed animals are in a pet net on the wall.  Dress up stuff is in a wicker laundry basket.  Puzzles, games and other stuff that comes in a box are in a plastic crate type tower.  We also have a toy box with a book shelf.  Big stuff goes in toy box, books go on book shelf, some things go on top of bookshelf.  It is ridiculous.  I'm throwing a ton of stuff away today and will be making another toy donation in the next couple of weeks.

smilelari

Mrs.Greeko:

We have so many storage solutions in the playroom it is ridiculous.  We have one of those 9 square things from target with 4 fabric cubes in there.  One cube has play kitchen stuff, one has make believe stuff, one has little people/Barbie stuff, one has baby tots.  The shelves without bins have dinosaurs, musical instruments, m&d food sets, wooden blocks, and cars (little people and barbie).  On top it will have Rubbermaid containers containing Barbies in one, lacing beads in one, and Legos in one.  Dolls and accessories are in under bed storage boxes that roll under the futon, stuffed animals are in a pet net on the wall.  Dress up stuff is in a wicker laundry basket.  Puzzles, games and other stuff that comes in a box are in a plastic crate type tower.  We also have a toy box with a book shelf.  Big stuff goes in toy box, books go on book shelf, some things go on top of bookshelf.  It is ridiculous.  I'm throwing a ton of stuff away today and will be making another toy donation in the next couple of weeks.

I gotta say I'm jealous.  I'm pretty sure that the  existence of a playroom would solve 99% of our toy storage problems   I hate having toys in the bedrooms and living room

Mrs.Greeko

smilelari:

Mrs.Greeko:

We have so many storage solutions in the playroom it is ridiculous.  We have one of those 9 square things from target with 4 fabric cubes in there.  One cube has play kitchen stuff, one has make believe stuff, one has little people/Barbie stuff, one has baby tots.  The shelves without bins have dinosaurs, musical instruments, m&d food sets, wooden blocks, and cars (little people and barbie).  On top it will have Rubbermaid containers containing Barbies in one, lacing beads in one, and Legos in one.  Dolls and accessories are in under bed storage boxes that roll under the futon, stuffed animals are in a pet net on the wall.  Dress up stuff is in a wicker laundry basket.  Puzzles, games and other stuff that comes in a box are in a plastic crate type tower.  We also have a toy box with a book shelf.  Big stuff goes in toy box, books go on book shelf, some things go on top of bookshelf.  It is ridiculous.  I'm throwing a ton of stuff away today and will be making another toy donation in the next couple of weeks.

I gotta say I'm jealous.  I'm pretty sure that the  existence of a playroom would solve 99% of our toy storage problems   I hate having toys in the bedrooms and living room

It's actually in the room that is meant to be the office, but it really makes things a lot easier and was a big draw to this house.  The toys don't stay in there, but one day I hope they will more. 

ondrea

we have this from Target - but in primary colors.

http://www.target.com/p/Tot-Tutors-Pastel-Toy-Organizer/-/A-11177319?reco=Rec|pdp|11177319|ClickCP|item_page.adjacency&lnk=Rec|pdp|11177319|ClickCP|item_page.adjacency

KeepingItLowKey

ondrea:

we have this from Target - but in primary colors.

http://www.target.com/p/Tot-Tutors-Pastel-Toy-Organizer/-/A-11177319?reco=Rec|pdp|11177319|ClickCP|item_page.adjacency&lnk=Rec|pdp|11177319|ClickCP|item_page.adjacency

I bought this a couple years ago when it went on sale and it was in our garage until yesterday... I finally decided that we needed it and I put it together. It fits pretty much everything they have.

Carol*Brady2

I have 2 8 cube Expedits from IKEA with bins. They hold so much stuff!!

uteandbuff

I have found the best thing for little pieces are little totes.  The container store has some smaller ones that are great for it.   Then we also have some totes that have all strawberry shortcake in them or all petshop stuff.   Then those are on the shelves. 

helenyoung72

I have 3 kids and we finally got some storage boxes and a big toy box bench to put all the knick-knacks. It?s worked out well. They?re learning to pick up their toys and put them back where they belong. The toy box can fit in a lot!